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WASHINGTON — In a first for the U.S. Mint, a coin with a bulging side resembling a baseball will be minted at West Point, N.Y., to commemorate the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Legislation authorizing sales of the coin next year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Hall of Fame was enacted by Congress under the sponsorship of two New York lawmakers, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Rep. Richard Hanna.

Both attended a news conference Thursday kicking off a design competition for the concave side of the coin.

The competition, open to anyone 14 or over, continues through May 11. The winner will get $5,000 and will have his or her initials engraved on the coin.

Entry submissions will be accepted online at www.challenge.gov. Rules are posted on the Mint's website at www.usmint.gov.

Profits from the sale of the three-coin series — a $5 gold coin, a $1 silver coin and a half-dollar coin — will be used to support the non-profit Hall of Fame and Museum.

If the entire 1.2 million coins authorized by Congress are sold, the Hall of Fame would receive $9.5 million, according to U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios.

"All of the profits will go back into our not-for-profit mission, a lot of which will go toward education,'' said Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "We have a thriving, very vibrant education program where we are in the classrooms in all 50 states every year. It will go into preserving the priceless and one-of-a-kind artifacts that comprise our museum, and it will help enrich the visitor experience with live programs in Cooperstown throughout the year.''

Hall-of-Famer third baseman Brooks Robinson, a member of the museum's board and a judge in the coin competition, said he's been told to expect a large number of entries.

Robinson, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, joked Thursday about how he's often reminded of the fleeting nature of fame.

One of those reminders came during a visit he made to a grammar school for Career Day.

"These kids are 6 to 12, and I'm saying, 'These kids don't know who Brooks Robinson is,''' he recalled. "And sure enough, when I got into school, my fears were well founded.''

Robinson retired from baseball in 1977 after 23 years with the Baltimore Orioles as a 16-time Gold Glove winner, the 1964 American League's Most Valuable Player and the MVP of the 1970 World Series.

One student asked him to sign 21 years of Brooks Robinson baseball cards, saying he needed them to trade for one autograph from another longtime Oriole, Cal Ripken Jr.